More than a third of UK teachers have banned mobile phones and laptops from the classroom - despite them having a positive impact on students’ results, a new survey suggests.

The majority of teachers (62 per cent) in the UK cite “distraction” as their primary concern about using personal technology in the classroom, according a poll of more than 600 teachers.

And yet, nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of teachers have agreed that technology can make their job easier when the devices are integrated effectively and used as an education tool.

More than four in five UK teachers surveyed (85 per cent) believe technology has made education more efficient, with two in five (41 per cent) reporting that classroom technology saves them more than three hours a week.

The online survey of 684 UK teachers and 651 US teachers also revealed that significantly more UK teachers (32 per cent) ban personal electronic devices from the classroom compared with their US counterparts (23 per cent).

But nearly two thirds (65 per cent) of UK teachers said they find pupils are more engaged when using technology in the classroom.

Samantha Blyth, director of schools at Canvas, the ed tech company that carried out the research, said: “The key to unlocking the potential will be to find ways to integrate personal devices into learning in a controlled way.”

The news follows a YouGov survey for TES, which found that more than half of heads do not believe that their school takes full advantage of the benefits of technology.

The concern is echoed more widely among other senior leaders, with 51 per cent of assistant heads and 52 per cent of other leaders saying that not enough is made of ed tech in school.

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